Ty Cobb

Ty Cobb
Cobb with the Detroit Tigers in 1913
Center fielder / Manager
Born: (1886-12-18)December 18, 1886 Narrows, Georgia, U.S.
Died: July 17, 1961(1961-07-17) (aged 74) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 30, 1905, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 11, 1928, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.366
Hits	4,189
Home runs	117
Runs batted in	1,944
Stolen bases	897
Managerial record	479–444
Winning %	.519
Teams
As player Detroit Tigers (1905–1926) Philadelphia Athletics (1927–1928) As manager Detroit Tigers (1921–1926)
Career highlights and awards
AL MVP (1911) Triple Crown (1909) 12× AL batting champion (1907–1915, 1917–1919) AL home run leader (1909) 4× AL RBI leader (1907–1909, 1911) 6× AL stolen base leader (1907, 1909, 1911, 1915–1917) Name honored by the Tigers Major League Baseball All-Century Team MLB record .366 career batting average
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1936
Vote	98.2% (first ballot)

Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886^[1] – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent 22 years with the Detroit Tigers and served as the team's player-manager for the last six, and he finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the Sporting News ranked Cobb third on its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."^[2]

Cobb is credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career.^[3][4][5][6] Cobb ranks first in games played by an outfielder in major league history (2,934). Cobb has won more batting titles than any other player, with 11 (or 12, depending on source).^[7] During his entire 24-year career, he hit .300 in a record 23 consecutive seasons, with the exception of his rookie season. He also hit .400 in three different seasons, a record he shares with three other players. Cobb has more five-hit games (14) than any other player in major league history. He also holds the career record for stealing home (54 times) and for stealing second base, third base, and home in succession (4 times), and as the youngest player ever to compile 4,000 hits and score 2,000 runs. His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs) is still the highest ever produced by any major league player. He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source),^[8][9][10] most career runs until 2001,^[11] most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974,^[12][13] and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977.^[14] His .366 career batting average was officially listed as the highest-ever until 2024, when MLB decided to include Negro Leagues players in official statistics.^[15]

Cobb's legacy, which includes a large college scholarship fund for Georgia residents financed by his early investments in Coca-Cola and General Motors, has been somewhat tarnished by allegations of racism and violence. These primarily stem from a couple of mostly discredited biographies that were released following his death.^[16] Cobb's reputation as a violent man was exaggerated by his first biographer, sportswriter Al Stump, whose stories about Cobb have been proven as sensationalized and largely fictional.^{[17][18][19][20]} While he was known for often violent conflicts, he spoke favorably about black players joining the Major Leagues and was a well-known philanthropist.^[16][21][22]